Management Is Key for GIG 3.0

Building and operating the third version of the Global Information Grid-GIG 3.0-will require new forms of accountability both for security and for operation. Accordingly, identity and access management will be the key items as the next-generation defense network is developed, said a panel of defense networking experts at TechNet Asia-Pacific 2011. GIG 3.0 would tap existing technology to provide better information sharing-particularly for interservice, interagency and international coalitions-along with improved cyber security and responsiveness, offered panel moderator Randy Cieslak, U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) chief information officer (CIO). Cieslak emphasized the importance of defendable agile compartmented enclaves to fight through cyberattacks. These virtual enclaves would match use needs, and authorized information would be safely moved among them. Mark Loepker, acting director for the Defense Information Assurance Program, said that part of the GIG would involve the thought process of managing risk. Participating in the panel via a videoconference link from Herndon, Virginia, Loepker cited data center and server consolidation, network standardization and optimization, and enterprise email, messaging and collaboration services as key attributes of the future GIG.